Kenton-on-Sea Jogger: “The Waves Ebb and Flow, Much Like Our Political Landscape”

A South African jogger in the Eastern Cape captured these photos this morning of a protest in Kenton-on-Sea, located halfway between East London and Port Alfred.

Protestors had brought traffic to a halt and were burning tyres and debris on the road. Despite the fires on the main road, he felt safe and said “the protest was peaceful”.

It was however a contrast in emotional stimuli on a run that had taken him past the beautiful ocean view, although – as he said when posting the photos – “the waves ebb and flow, a bit like our political landscape”.

Beautiful Kenton-on-Sea, Eastern Cape, South Africa

According to onlookers the protest followed housing issues in which the people feel “promises have not been kept by government. The builders of homes in the local township, Ekupumleni, did not return after the holidays because they have not received payments, and RDP houses that have been promised to those who qualify (voters) cannot take occupation.”

The Daily Dispatch reported that stones were also thrown and that the situation was tense.

In Gauteng hundreds of residents are also furious after they claim they’ve been cheated out of houses in a Presidential housing project, according to GroundUp. President Jacob Zuma had promised to improve conditions in 2010 when he visited and found people still living “like pigs”. The residents claim they paid up to R25,000 deposit on homes… only to discover they’ve been sold to other buyers. Read GroundUp’s full report here.